Boltless rail-joint.



TNTT %AS WILLIAM E. CRAWFOED, OF COOPER, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOMUELIE E. BENTON, OF COOPER, TEXAS.

BOLTLESS RAIL-J'OINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July so, 1912.

Application filed Aprl 24, 1912. Serial No'. 693,009.

To aZZw/wm it may camera:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. CnAwrom), a citizen of the United States,residing at Cooper, in the County of Delta and State of Texas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Boltless Rail-Joints, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in boltless railjoints, and relates more particularly to certain improvements upon thepreviously patented Construction, for which Letters Patent #718,317 wereissued J an. 13, 1903 to the inventor of the herein-described device.

The rail joint now commonly used comprises a pair of fish-plates heldagainst the web sui-faces of the jointed rail extreinities by boltspassing through the web. The frequently recurring strain and vibrationto which the joints are subjected by passing trains tends to loosen thebolts, making such a joint unsafe. Another undesirable feature of such ajoint lies in the fact that bolt holes must be bored in the web portionsof the rail extremities before the joint can be formed.

It is the object of the present invention to eliminate the use of boltsin a rail oint, and to substitute a stronger and more Satisfactory meansfor holding the fish-plates in place, that will not require the boringof any holes in the rail ends.

Another object is to provide a form of rail joint that will offer noimpediment to the slight variations in length to which the rails aresubject, due to eXposure to the sun s rays.

A further object is to provide a rail joint, which in case of emergencywill be adapted to join the broken ends of rails, without the necessityof first boring said ends to receive bolts.

Finally, the object is to provide a device of the character describedthat will be strong, durable, simple and efiicient, and one, the variousparts of which will not be likely to get out of working order.

`With these and various other objects in view, my invention has relationto certain ncvel features of the Construction and operation, an exampleof which is described in the following specification, and illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, wherein;

Figure l is a View in side elevation of a rail joint, in which areembodied the novel 'features constituting the present invention. Fig. 2is a view in side elevation, showing the opposite side of the joint tothat shown in Fg. l. Fig. 3 is a View of the device in cross-section,the section beingtaken upon the line X-X of Fig. 1. Fig. t is a detail,perspective View of a dog which serves in the rail joint to connect oneof the fish-plates to the bed-plate, a wedge member being shown mountedin said dog for a purpose hereinafter made clear.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, wherein like referencecharacters designate similar parts in all the figures, the numeral ldenotes a bed-plate, rectangular in shape, which is adaptecl to belongitudi- `nally disposed beneath the joint established between the tworails A and B. Adjacent to one side of the longitudinal bed-plate l, afish-plate 2 is made integral with said bedplate and is made to conformin shape to ;the contour of the adjacent rail surfaces. The fish-plate 2is reinforcecl by a plurality of triangular ribs Q connecting the twoportions of the fish-plate, which are adapted ;to contact respectivelywith the base and the web of each rail eXtremity. A fish-plate, similarin shape to the fish-plate 2'is adapted to be placed against the otherside of the two rail extremities and is restricted from displacementoutward from the rails by means of an elongated keeper member %Lintegral with the bed-plate 1, and overhanging ,the lower edge of thefish-plate 3. A plu- *rality of dogs 5 of rectangular cross-section, arepassed vertically through the members l and 3, their upper ends beingprovided with beveled heads 6 adapted to contact with the upper surfaceof the fish-plate 3 when the parts of the joint are assembled. Thesmaller end of each dog 5 is provided with a vertical slot 7, and anelongated wedgeshaped member 8 is adapted to be passed through each ofsaid slots in a direction transverse with the connected rail ends. Oneedge of the wedge 8 is adapted to contact with the under surface of theplate 1, and the opposite edge of each wedge is slightly beveled, beingthus adapted to eXert a downwardly acting pressure upon the correlateddog, t-hereby causing the head of said dog to force the members 3 and linto firm contact. The smaller end of each wedge member S is providedwith a slit 9 and the furcations formed at each side of tremities.

said slit are adapted to be bent at right angles to the wedge, eachfurcation engaging a lug 10 a pair of which are mounted upon the underside of the plate 1 adj acent to each of the apertures through which thedogs 5 are passed. Adjacent to the larger extremity of each wedge, ashoulder ll is provided to the beveled edge thereof, which shoulderfurnishes a bearing surface against which pressure may be eXerted todrive the wedge from its seat in the correlated dog.

In assembling the parts comprising the above-described rail joint, themember comprising the plates l and 2 is at first adjusted n a properrelation to the rail eXtremity,

as is shown in the drawing. The fish-plate is then brought into itsplace by first placing the same against one of the rails at one side ofthe joint, and then sliding said plate end-wise or parallel with therail. The dogs 5 are then driven downwardly into place, said dogs beingmade to pass through the plate 3, the plate l and also through the outerportions of the bases of the rail eX- The wedges 8 are then, driventhrough the slot 7 in the dog, and their accidental removal is preventedby bending the bifurcated ends of said wedges, as has already been madeclear.

The above-described joint is one that may be assembled more readily thanthe common type of joint, since there are no nuts and bolts to bethreaded together.

The invention is presented as including all such changes andmodifications as come within the scope of the following claims.

`What I claim is:

l. In a rail joint, the combination with two adjacent rail extremities,of a bed-plate supporting said extremities, a pair of fishplatesconforming in shape to the adjacent rail surfaces, one of saidfish-plates being integral with the bed-plate, and the other beingdetachable, an elongated keeper member integral with one edge of thebed-plate and engaging the lower edge of the detachable fish-plate, aplurality of dogs passing through the separab le fish-plate and thebed-plate and passing also through one of the rail bases, said dogshaving heads adapted to rest upon separable fish-plates and having theirlower portions projecting beneath the base plate and provided withslots, a wedge member passing through the slotted end of each dog andContacting with the under surface of each bed-plate, and meansrestricting the wedges against displacement from the coi-related dogs.

2. In a rail joint, the combination with two adjacent rail extremites,of a bed-plate supporting said extremities, a pair of fish plates,conforming in shape to the adjacent rail surfaces, one of saidfish-plates being integral with the bed-plate, and the other beingdetachable, an elongated keeper member integral with one edge of thebed-plate and engaging the lower edge of the detachable fish pl'ate, aplurality of dogs passing through the separable fish-plate and thebedplate, and passing also through the rail bases, said dogs beingprovided with heads adapted to rest upon said separable fishplates andhaving slotted portions projecting beneath the bed-plate, a pair of lugsprojecting from the under surface ofthe bed-plate adjacent to eachaperture receiving a dog, and an elongated wedge member projectingthrough the slotted lower end of each dog, Contacting with the lowersurface of the bed-plate and having its end bifurcated, the furcationsbeing oppositely bent to bring them into engagement with said lugs.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

l/VILLIAM R. CRAVVFORD VVitnesses:

J. P. MORRILL, J OHN`T. MORGAN.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C."

